165 



some excellent pasturages, and very fine mea- 

 dows; the other parts produce grain, vegetables, 

 and fruits in great perfection and abundance- 

 From almost every corner of it being turned to 

 agricultural uses, there is very little wood re- 

 maining, except what is left for ornament on 

 the different farms. There is one road that 

 goes entirely round the island, and one that 

 runs through the middle lengthways ; these are 

 connected by others, that open an easy com- 

 munication between every part of it. There are 

 two parishes, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Rose ; 

 the houses, mostly built of stone, are dispersed 

 by the sides of the roads ; now and then a few 

 of them are placed close together, but no where 

 in sufficient numbers to be called a village. 

 Around the island are several corn and saw- 

 mills on the two large rivers ; in the interior 

 there is no stream of sufficient force to work 

 either. About midway of the Riviere des 

 Prairies is the strong rapid called the Sault au 

 Recollet. The rafts of timber that are brought 

 down the Ottawa from the upper townships 

 descend this river into the Saint Laurence at 

 the Bout de Lisle. The communication be^ 

 tween Isle Jesus and the islands of Montreal 

 and Bizare and the main land is kept up by 

 several ferries in convenient situations for main»- 

 taining a continual and sure intercourse. The 



